GREENCASTLE — The Tri-West Bruins displayed some quick-strike scoring ability early in Friday night’s game at South Putnam. But, the Bruins finally took control of both sides of the football in the second half as they surged to a 34-7 victory over the host South Putnam Eagles.
Tri-West sophomore halfback Cody Coll provided early fireworks on his way to a 195 yards rushing and three touchdown performance. Meanwhile, junior quarterback Austin Hendershot took to the run in the second after the Eagles keyed heavily on Coll, adding two more touchdowns as the Bruins earned their second convincing win in the 2010 season.
Tri-West coach Chris Coll liked the way the Bruins came through with the decisive victory and the way his two main offensive weapons came through.
“We have the potential to be a threat two different directions, and those two kids are pretty good,” Coll said. “I hope we’re a little more diversified and more of a threat than we’ve been the last couple of years.”
But, the final score may have been a bit deceiving when compared to the effort needed to get there.
Cody Coll set up his team well in the first quarter, going for 108 yards and two touchdowns on his first three carries of the game. Coll opened with a 65-yard dash around the right side to give the Bruins a 7-0 start. His second carry for 39 yards put the Bruins just shy of a score, but he took care of the last four yards on the next play as Tri-West went ahead 14-0.
But, South Putnam put some pressure on the Tri-West defense as the half went on. The Eagles methodically used 17 offensive plays for their lone score, a three-yard run by Brayden Freeman. Then, they halted a Tri-West possession with a takeaway of a fumble by Hendershot.
“We had a negative play followed by a turnover, and the game was kind of teetering,” Coll said. “Their physical running game caused us some problems. Staying in the driver’s seat with the lead was really important.”
But, the Eagles never got back to a tie. And, that allowed coach Coll to refocus his team at halftime.
“We played a lor more physical and a lot more aggressive than we did in the first half,” Coll said. “We went out and won that game versus trying to hang onto it. That’s key for us because we lost some games last year trying to hang on.”
The Bruins finally took contol of the game half way into the third quarter when Mitch Alexander recovered a fumble by Freeman inside the Eagles’ 30-yard line. Hendershot capped that short field with a 10-yard touchdown run through the secondary giving Tri-West a two score advantage (21-7), again..
It was all Tri-West thereafter. Coll tacked on a 14-yard scamper down the sideline for one fourth quarter score. Cory Miller got the Bruins another short field by recovering a fumble by Zach Smith, and Hendershot capped the night with his second touchdown, going three yards.
Hendershot supported Coll’s rushing efforts with another 156 yards of offense, 87 on the ground and 69 via the pass. South Putnam’s top offensive effort came from Freeman, who gained 82 rushing yards on 21 carries.
Tri-West, now 2-0 will return home next Friday, as the Bruins will open Sagamore Conference play against Lebanon. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
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